Supreme Court Won't Hear Pleas to Restore Media Ownership Rules

Published: June 14, 2005

The Supreme Court on Monday turned away several appeals from broadcast and newspaper groups that sought to restore new government rules easing restrictions on media ownership.

Without comment, the justices let stand a lower court ruling that threw out the looser Federal Communications Commission regulations as unjustified.

The agency must now try a second time to revise its former ownership rules, which the media groups say are inadequate to address the rapidly growing cable television, satellite broadcasting and Internet markets.

The proposed changes would have allowed a single company to own TV stations and a newspaper in the same area, and to own more TV and radio stations in a single market. But critics, including many in Congress, say that would encourage mergers and stifle diversity in news and entertainment.

The appeals were filed by the Newspaper Association of America; the Tribune Company; the National Association of Broadcasters; and Media General. Also joining the appeals were the Gannett Company, the nation's largest newspaper publisher; the Belo Corporation; Morris Communications; CBS, a unit of Viacom; Fox, a unit of the News Corporation; and NBC, a unit of General Electric.

Justice Stephen G. Breyer, who owns shares in Gannett, did not participate in considering whether to hear the appeals.

The media groups argued that the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, based in Philadelphia, should have upheld the new F.C.C. rules in deference to the agency's expertise.

Restoring the looser restrictions would ensure that newspapers and broadcasters deliver high-quality news and ''remain competitive in today's increasingly challenging multimedia environment,'' a filing from the Newspaper Association stated.

The F.C.C., which chose not to pursue its own appeal after the Third Circuit decision, urged justices in filings to turn away the request of the media groups. The F.C.C. said it first should be given a chance to come up with new rules that could pass judicial muster.

In 2003, the Republican-dominated F.C.C. completed two years of study and voted 3 to 2 along party lines to ease ownership restrictions.

The Third Circuit blocked the changes, ruling that the F.C.C. ''has not sufficiently justified its particular chosen numerical limits for local television ownership, local radio ownership, or cross-ownership of media within local markets.''